5 Myths About The Hummingbird

When Google’s latest algorithm update hit the search results, there were plenty panicked cries of things such as “SEO is dead”. With all the speculation on Google’s latest update, it became hard to make sense of how your website will fare in the search results for your top keywords.

Rest-assured, algorithm updates do not scare professional Search Engine Optimization specialists. After all, a well-planned, well-built website with authoritative and relevant content for top its top queries should always come out ahead.

Myth 1 – SEO is dead

SEO means Search Engine Optimization which is the process of optimizing a website to be found organically on Search Engines for related search queries.

Google’s Hummingbird update aims to do a better job of considering keywords in their context to better understand the intent of the query.

Your pages still need to be well planned and optimized for your intended queries.

Modern day SEO has evolved and is about so much more than optimization, too. It’s simply one facet of Internet Marketing.

Myth 2 – Keywords do not matter

There is much talk on the Internet about what Hummingbird does to the keyword. After all, Google has updated its algorithms to do a better job of understanding the intent of a query rather than specifically focusing on the keyword.

Research the types of keywords, keyword phrases and queries that your potential website visitor will be likely to type into a search engine to find a website such as yours is still a very important part of your Internet Marketing process.

Creating authoritative and relevant content that relates to your keywords is still very much a key to succeeding online.

We’ve always advised: Content is King … and that’s not a myth! It’s a philosophy that works, tried and true.

Myth 3 – It’s all about social

While it is true the new Hummingbird update makes social media a priority, this does not mean you should abandon your SEO or Internet Marketing strategies to focus solely on social media. Social media should become a part of your whole strategy and should be planned and integrated properly.

Myth 4 – You better fix your website quick

Whenever Google releases an update or algorithm change, it is easy to panic and have a knee-jerk reaction to fix your website quick.

But, a well planned site with good content and a proper Internet marketing strategy will not need to be fixed quick.

Internet Marketing professionals may take a look at your website and strategy and refine certain segments to better reach your goals, but it is important to know your website needs to provide a mix of appealing to search engines such as Google and appealing to the needs of your website visitor.

Myth 5 – Hummingbird killed link building

Years ago, a popular method of creating authority for a website was to have other websites link to it. Many black hat SEO companies popped up promising hundreds or thousands of links to your website for various price ranges.

Not only did this not help a website in the long term, but it may also have caused harm in a website’s organic ranking.

Having high quality, relevant links to your website will still help establish your site’s authority.

Good SEO planning has always been about content, not specifically keywords and metatags. Good SEO planning has always been about relevancy and maintaining a balance for the search engines and the user.

Good SEO is part of overall Internet Marketing. When done properly, updates and algorithm changes end up being a reward for websites with well-optimized pages and high quality, well-rounded content.

Hummingbird did not kill SEO. It simply became a part of SEO’s evolution.